Loula Bebber (South) Humphreys was born in North Carolina in 1883 and passed away in Bend, Oregon in 1993. But most of her life was lived just west of the John Day River, in the heart of what is now the John Day Fossil Beds National Park, and married to Rhys Humphreys, one of the early ranchers of the John Day area.
While my current research is on the Cant Ranch and the history of early ranches in the John Day Valley, Loula’s story is one of the many tangents I’d travelled while doing that research. And as often happens, that research revealed a remarkable history and story.
One of her grandsons, William Vaughn Humphreys, and his wife Donna, published an account of her life titled “Loula’s Legacy.”
While there is a great deal of the family’s genealogical history detailed in the book, the essential parts to me, and what might be of interest to you, is the detail of life in those early days of ranching, and the letters she wrote which described her life. It is especially poignant because it comes from a woman’s point of view, a view of our history not heard as often, or enough. Her strength and resiliency, her love of the land and of family, shows through clearly despite the hardships her family endured.
The book itself is no longer in print, shared primarily with family members when it was published. It is with the greatest kindness that Bill and Donna agreed to allow me to share Loula’s story to a wider audience. And it is a reminder that these stories, these histories, tell of the lives which, as James Cant stated, “Made this country.”
You are able to read it online here or click the download button below to preserve your own copy.
